As A Friend
by Ovaltine-TLC
Summary: The last words I expected to hear out of his mouth were "I respect you as a friend." [KalosShipping. T for language. Slight spoilers. I've never written Pokemon before, please forgive me.]


**This is most likely shit because I wrote this while drunk at Thanksgiving and I've never written anything but Danny Phantom my entire life. **

_**ALSO: **_**slightly spoiler-y? Mainly just the line "I respect you as a friend" tho. And a few mentions of. Things. Yeah let's go with that. All I'm saying is you probably won't be upset if you haven't gotten to that part because this is all really shitty and vague.**

**Oh and a slight language warning. Hahah.**

* * *

As A Friend:

The last words I expected to hear out of his mouth were "I respect you as a friend." Whatever hope had fluttered into my heart faded out of my heart quickly.

Just as it always was, Calem would do _something _that led me to think, '_hey, maybe he'_, then he'd snuff it out with some platonic bullshit.

It was just the same as at the cafe. God that seemed like so long ago. It had been the first time I realized that, _hey_- maybe I like this guy like that.

Of course that had all been based on the assumption that Calem was going to reveal some big secret, like I dunno, '_I've had a crush on you ever since you moved in_'.

Oh, but no! It was him proposing some competition between us. It had made me reconsider the feeling I had earlier. Maybe it had just been some weird loneliness from leaving all my friends behind after my mom and I moved to Vaniville town.

A few days later, I figured out that it wasn't.

I'd been mentally battling myself ever since then.

_"Why go through the trouble of asking someone to come to a cafe if you're just gonna-? Why didn't he suggest it right there rather than going the cafe?" _I would wonder.

"_Maybe he'd been thinking of asking something else, but he chickened out."_

I had that conversation many times.

But after that, he only ever seemed to even _talk_ to me when it was challenging me to a battle. And after every one he'd run off- I'd fruitlessly try to follow. I would always lose sight of him.

_He_ thought he was the one losing the battles, but I could feel him slipping away with every one.

I'd thought, _'maybe'_, when Calem followed after _me_ for once. In Lysandre's lab, I had wondered a lot...

_'Maybe, maybe'_

About the possibility of us becoming, well...

_'Us'_.

I had tuned out the rest of his words after that. _'I respect you as a friend_'. What an odd phrase.

A loud ringing filled my ears and I could only watch numbly as he ran away into the distance- like he always did.

My foot shifted forward like I was going to follow after him- like _I_ always did.

I could still see him. He seemed to have slowed down.

One step, then another. My feet moved out of habit. "_Hey, this guy's running again? Don't we usually follow him?"_

The blood rushing in my ears made a sound like roaring waves.

…

I wouldn't say I hadn't been brave, or strong. It wasn't a matter of weakness that ensured my continued silence about the subject of _'us'_. I was strong, I was brave. Everyone knew that. I knew that.

Uncertainty had kept me quiet.

I'd waited for _him_ to make the move, because I'd convinced myself that he either loved me or hated me, and I just couldn't tell which was which.

Did he change his confession at the cafe? Had he been planning to tell me something else?

Was he running away because he'd grown to despise me beating him in every battle?

It was only then that I'd realized _I_ had to be the one who started _'us'_- or ended us, if that was the case.

For the first time, I _ran_ after him. My heart beat rapidly, joining the rushing blood in my ears, creating a chaotic symphony of sound. My feet joined the rhythm.

He was so far in the distance that I wondered if I'd ever catch up with him.

No matter how many steps I took, they didn't seem to affect the miles in between Calem and I.

It was hard thinking over the rush of sound, but I don't think I'd have thought of anything, even if it was as quiet as a crypt.

'What do I say, what do I do, _I've never said anything like this before,_ what do I say, what do I do'

To soon, but too late, I reached him. My hands were shaking as I reached out for his hand, but at the last moment I reached for his shoulder instead.

He jumped a little. "Whoa, hey, Se-!"

Hey, you know what? Fuck having tact.

I leaned in and kissed Calem right on his dumb, clueless- _surprisingly soft_ lips.

After a moment, I leaned back, and studied his expression.

Well, I'd expected him to look shocked. For once, what I expected from him was what I got.

A small, sly grin cracked across my face.

"Hey, I respect you _as a friend_, too."

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**I wanna punch Calem in the face basically. He does weird things that make me feel weird okay. Okay.**


End file.
